Featured Member: Coral Dabarera

February 13, 2018

We are excited to spotlight Coral Dabarera as this month's featured student member! Coral is pursuing her master’s degree in Nutrition, Healthspan, and Longevity at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California. She is particularly interested in the gut microbiome and mental health and women’s health.  She is currently completing her clinical specialty rotation at a California Diabetes and Pregnancy Program affiliate (called Sweet Success) in Los Angeles. She enjoys yoga, hiking, travel, and trying new cuisines in her free time.

Who or what inspired you to become interested in integrative and functional nutrition?​

On some level, my interest for this field started in 10^th grade when I wrote a report about naturopathic doctors. After being accused of studying witch doctors by my classmates, I put the idea of complementary and alternative medicine out of my mind for years until I saw an integrative and functional nutrition dietitian speak at the Rubin Museum in New York. Her talk led me to the field of dietetics, and I have pursued my interest in functional medicine (FM) ever since. Treating the body as a whole makes a lot of sense to me, and I find nutrition’s role in creating mind-body balance fascinating and important.

What area of practice do you plan to go into and how do you plan to secure a job that utilizes integrative and functional nutrition?

I am planning on focusing on women’s health and utilizing what is known about the gut-brain connection in practice. I am interested in how nutrition affects one’s mood and psychological health. I also plan to use nutrigenomics in practice, as I have become fascinated about the future of personalized nutrition through a few classes in my Master’s in Nutrition, Healthspan, and Longevity program at the University of Southern California.

Through my internship rotation with a dietitian in private practice in LA, I have learned a lot about how a functional nutrition-focused dietitian coaches her clients to health and maintains a successful practice. I hope in the future that more organizations will employ dietitians that specialize in integrative and functional nutrition. For now, I plan to have my own practice.

What education or training in integrative and functional nutrition have you completed or what education or training in integrative and functional nutrition do you plan to complete in the future?

My long-term goal is to earn the IFNCP credential through the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy and to complete the ADAPT Framework Level 1 through the Kresser Institute. I am also interested in taking some Institute of Functional Medicine modules based on my interests down the line.

What advice would you give other students interested in learning more about integrative and functional nutrition?

Join the DIFM DPG. Also, listen to webinars from DIFM when you can. It’s also worth following like-minded dietitians on Instagram and researching the topics that are often discussed.

The future is bright for you, Coral! Thanks for sharing about your experiences and goals with us!